Button positioning means and mechanism



Nov. 15, 1938. B. BARES I BUTTON POSITIONING MEANS AND MECHANISM 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 9, 1937 INVENTOR M Jared,

ORNE s.

Nov. 15, 1938.

B. BARES BUTTON POSITIONING MEANS AND MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 9, 1937 Nov. 15, 1938. B. BARES BUTTON POSITIONING MEANS ANDMECHANISM Filed Sept. 9, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Nov. 15, 1938UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUTTON POSITIONING MEANS AND MECH- ANISMBohumil Bares, Oakville, Coma, assignor to Scovill ManufacturingCompany, Waterbury,

19 Claims.

The present invention relates to button feeding and positioningmechanism and constitutes an improvement upon the mechanism disclosed inthe patent to Miller, No. 2,067,225.

The objects of the present invention are to generally simplify theconstruction and render more positive the feeding of buttons to thebutton positioning or orienting means and to insure retaining thebuttons in oriented position while transferring them from thepositioning means to the button-attaching or setting station.

According to the present invention, instead of using a plurality ofspring-tensioned arcuate elements for providing frictional engagementwith the periphery of the buttons carried by a hingedly mounted buttonreceiver carrier by a rotatable disc for rotating them about their axesin the course of orienting them, as disclosed in the Miller patent abovereferred to, the rotatable disc has a floating receiver which istensioned radially outwardly to press the periphery of the button intocontact with a frictional surface in a fixed element which is soconstituted as to promote rotation of the button about its axis as thebutton is carried in the receiver from the raceway or button-receivingstation to the transfer station. The floating receiver is preferablyformed with a trigger member carrying an index or locator pin forcooperation with a suitable indexing element on the button, whichtrigger member is periodically tripped to withdraw the locator pin fromthe receiver to admit a button therelnto at the button-receivingstation. The invention also contemplates providing a novel auxiliarycut-oil. means in the button-feeding track or raceway to insurereception of a button in the floating receiver when it arrives at thebutton-receiving station. The invention also contemplates other featuresof novelty and combinations of parts, the construction and operation ofwhich will be better understood by reference to the detailed descriptionwhich follows, when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:-

5 Figure 1 is a front elevation, with parts broken away, of that portionof a button-feeding and attaching machine with which the presentinvention is concerned.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the line 22of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a left end view of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1,with parts thereof broken away to better show the constructional detailsthereof.

Fig. 1 is a fractional front elevation with parts broken away, showingthe floating button receiver at the button transfer station.

Fig. 5 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the line 5-5of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially along the plane of the line 6-6of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a section taken substantially along the line |-l of Fig. 1.

Figs. 8 and 9 are sections through the friction plate showing theoperative relation of different types of buttons with said frictionplate.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 show a top plan, a bottom plan, and a sideelevation, respectively, of a type of button adapted to be oriented inthe machine.

Fig. 13 is a section taken substantially along the line Iii-l3 of Fig,1.

Referring to the drawings, the orienting or button-positioning mechanismcomprises a track or raceway I5 consisting of a supporting wall I6 uponwhich are mounted in spaced parallel rela-- tion a pair of undercutrails l1 and 18 providing an undercut groove down which the buttons l9may move by the action of gravity. The buttons 19 are of the typeillustrated in Figs. 10.to 12, and comprise a hub 20 having an enlargedhead over which is mounted a shell 21 which may have a suitable designor manufacturer's trade-mark on the top thereof, such, for example, asindicated by the reference numeral 22. The shell has an integral tab 23which is bent back over the underside of the top to provide a raisedprojection thereat which bears a definite relation to the design 22 andserves for cooperation with a locator means presently to be described,for orienting the button. If desired, the underside of the button headbehind the bent back tab may be formed with an annular groove 24 toinsure better engagement of the locator means with said tab. Obviouslythe buttons which may be used with the mechanism constituting thepresent invention are not limited to that disclosed in Figs. 10 to 12,but may be of other forms and types, in which event it will beunderstood that the locator means will be formed for cooperativeengagement with the registering means on the button.

At the lower end of the raceway l5 there is a supporting plate 25 havinga lateral reinforcing bracket 26 secured to the machine frame, saidsupporting plate having a substantially semi-circular rabbeted groove 21in the front face thereof, and at a point diametrically opposite to thetrack, said plate is cut away to provide a substantially rectangularrecess 28. Mounted on the front of the supporting plate 25 and seatingin the rabbeted groove 21 thereof is an arcuate friction plate 29 ofsubstantially semi-circular form and being formed on its inner peripherywith an angular groove 30, the faces of which groove are preferablysmooth and form with each other an angle of approximately 60. Extendingradially inwardly beyond the groove 30 is a flange ii, the innerperipheral wall of which is concentrio with the groove 30 and ispreferably knurled to provide a friction surface, the function for whichwill presently appear.

Mounted on the supporting plate 25 in concentric relation to thefriction plate 29 is a rotary cut-off disc 32, the outer periphery ofwhich is spaced slightly inwardly from the inner peripheral wall of theflange 3|. The disc 32 on its outer face is formed with a diametricalslot 33 and on its opposite face is formed with a substantiallysemicircular concentric groove 34. The disc 32 is mounted for rotationabout a stud 35 passing through the center of the disc, the said stud inturn being mounted in the supporting plate 25 and being held thereon bya nut 86. Also mounted on the stud 35 directly under the enlarged head31 thereon is a gear II the inner face of which is formed with adiametrical rib 39 which engages in the diametrical slot 33 so as tolock the gear for rotation with the disc 32.

In mesh with the teeth of the gear 38 for rotating the latter is a gearsector 40 provided at one end of a two-part, spring-tensioned lever 4iwhich has at its opposite end a roller 42 adapted to ride over a cam(not shown) for controlling the movement of the gear sector so as tocause reciprocation thereof, and in turn, oscillationof the rotary disc32. To limit the extent of this oscillatory movement of the disc, 2.stop pin 34' mounted on the supporting plate 25 extends into thesemi-circular groove 34 in the rear of the disc.

Carried by the disc 82 and floatingly mounted therein is a floatingreceiver 48 for a button, said floating receiver consisting of asubstantially rectangular body member 44 having laterally extendinglongitudinal ribs 45 slidably engaging within complemental grooves inthe lateral walls of a recess formed in the disc 82. The body member 44on its inner face is formed with a sub stantially semi-cylindricalsocket 46 for receiving the head of a button or the like, and leadingfrom said socket and extending outwardly toward the face of the bodymember is a secondary substantially semi-circular socket 41 forreceiving the hub of the button. The floating receiver 43 is tensionedradially outwardly by a pair of helical springs 48, the ends of whichseat in aligned sockets formed respectively in the disc 32 and in thereceiver 43 whereby the periphery of a button contained within thesockets 48, 41, will be urged radially outwardly into frictional contactwith the arcuate friction plate 28. when the floating receiver fails topick up a button from the track, the outward radial movement of the bodymember 44 is limited by engagement of a lug 44' on the receiver with astop element 32' mounted on the disc 32. The body member 44 is formed onits outer face with a pair of spaced ears or lugs 49 between which ispivotally mounted a lever or trigger member it through the medium of alocking pin I passing through said ears and lever. One end of said lever50 is formed with a socket within which is supported the head of alocator pin 52 which is movable through an opening in the body memberinto the socket 44. Said locator pin is adapted for cooperation with theregistering means on the button in a manner which will be presentlyexplained. The lever 50 at its opposite end is chamfered, as indicatedat 53, for cooperative engagement with a lever-tripping device whichwill be presently described. Normally the lever 50 is biased by a spring54 so that the locator pin will be held in its button-engaging position,as best shown in Figs. 3 and 7.

When the rotary disc 32 is moved through an angle of approximately 180from its position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 4 it carrieswith it the floating receiver to present the same and the buttoncontained therein to the button transfer station. At this station thearcuate friction plate 29 is formed with an inner peripheral recess 55through which is adapted to move a pusher rod 56, the inner end of whichis bifurcated, as indicated at 51 (Fig. 2), and formed with an arcuateseat 58 for receiving the head of a button as the latter is beingtransferred from the floating receiver 43 to a pair of button-receivingJaws 59 beneath a setting punch 60 at the button-attaching station. Torestrain the button against rotational movement about its axis duringits transfer from the transfer station to the attaching station, due tofrictional engagement between the button and the movable elements withwhich it comes in contact, there is provided on the top of the pusherrod adJacent the arcuate seat 54 a hardened metal plate M, the edgethereof which lies flush with the arcuate seat being provided with ananvil point 62 adapted to bite into the periphery of the head of thebutton as the latter is being transferred. In the course of thistransferring movement the button will be held pressed against the anvilpoint on the pusher rod by the spring-pressed gate 63 which will openfrom its normally closed position shown in Fig. 5, to its open positionshown in Fig. 3, under the influence of the advancing movement of thepusher rod.

The pusher rod 56 is formed as part of a T-headed member 84 which isslidably movable in a T-headed slot 65 formed in a bracket 48 attachedto the machine frame. To periodically actuate the pusher rod the latteris connected through the medium of a bolt 61 to a lever 48 which isfulcrumed at 68 and guided in its movements by engagement of a roller 10at its free end in rolling contact with a cam (not shown). To allow forthe movement of the pusher rod the top of the bracket 66 overlying theT-head slot 65 therein is formed with a longitudinal slot II.

It has been found in operation that when the rotary disc 32 returns thefloating receiver 43 to its uppermost position, that is, to itsbutton-receiving position as shown in Fig. 1, occasionally the buttonsstacked in the track I! are knocked or forced upwardly therein to suchan extent that at times the rotary disc would start on its returnwithout picking up a button from the track due to the fact that thelowermost button did not have time to fall into the receiving socket 46in the floating receiver. To overcome this fault I have provided anauxiliary cut-off device for the buttons in the track. This auxiliarycut-off device consists of a lever 12 which is pivotally mounted, as atII, in an oblique slot 14 cut into the rail I8. The inner end of thelever 12 is notched, as at 15, to permit the end of the lever to pressagainst the underside of a button head to frictionally hold the buttonand those above it in the raceway in position against downward movement.To provide for this frictional engagement, the auxiliary cut-off leveris biased by a spring it carried by a screw or other anchoring means 11.By the lever 12 frictionally engaging against a button in the slot whichis spaced from the periphery of the rotary disc it serves to prevent theentire weight of all the buttons in the track from resting upon therotary disc and thereby prevents the stack .of buttons from being shotupwardly in the track on the return stroke of the disc, as abovementioned.

When the floating receiver is returned to its button-receiving positionit will be apparent that the locator pin must be withdrawn from thesocket 46 in the receiver to permit the reception of a button therein,and substantially simultaneously therewith the auxiliary cut-oil. meansmust be released so as to permit the buttons in the raceway to movedownwardly to insure reception of a button in the receiver when it againis returned to button-receiving position. To permit of thissubstantially simultaneous action taking place there is mounted on thelever 68 a bracket 18, in the upstanding wall 19 of which is mounted apair of adjustable screws and 8|, the screw 80 being adjusted to engagethe end 53 of the lever 50 to withdraw the locator pin from the socket46 and the screw 8i being adjusted to engage the end of the lever 12 torelease the same from its frictional engagement with the button inthetrack, thereby permitting the buttons to drop downwardly therein. Theadjustment of the screws 80 and Si is preferably such that theengagement of the lever 50 will be somewhat in advance of the engagementof the lever 12 so that the floating receiver will be in position toreceive the bottommost button from the track as the floating receiver isreturned to its receiving position. For manually moving the lever 68,should this be found necessary when setting up and making adjustments inthe machine, there is secured to the pusher rod engaging end of thelever 68 a bracket 82 formed with a hand-engaging portion 82'.

0peration.ln the operation of the device the buttons are first fed byany suitable means, preferably by a hopper (not shown), down the trackor raceway l5 until the track becomes loaded solidly with buttons, thebottommost one resting on the periphery of the rotary disc 32. As themachine is operated, a downward movement of the gear sector 40 willbring the floating receiver 43 into its button-receiving positionbeneath the lower end of the track l5. As the floating receiver is beingbrought into this position the locator pin 52 will be moved outwardly byengagement of the adjustable screw 80 with the end of the lever 58, andsubstantially simultaneously with this operation the lever 12 will beoperated to release the frictionally held buttons in the track so thatthey may move downwardly therein whereupon the bottommost button willmove into the floating receiver. The gear sector 40 will then moveupwardly, causing the periphery of the button in the floating receiverwhich is urged into frictional contact with the arcuate friction plateto rotate the button about its axis, in the course of which movement theregistering means 23 on the button will be engaged by the locator pin 52to restrain the button against further rotation when the button hasreached its oriented position. Of course, as the disc and its floating.receiver begin to move away from the track, the locator pin lever willbe released, as will be also the auxiliary cut-off lever, whereupon thesprings biasing said respective levers will come into play to move thelocator pin into operating position and move the auxiliary cut-off leverinto buttonengaging position to engage the bottommost button in thetrack and hold it in spaced relation to the periphery of the rotary disc32. The oriented button in the floating receiver will be thus carriedaround to the transfer station, whereupon the pusher rod will be movedinwardly to transfer the button fromthe floating receiver to thebuttonattaching station, in the course of which trans ferring action theoriented button will be moved past the gate 63, which, by imposing africtional resistance upon the button as it passes thereunder, willforce the head of. the button into contact with the anvil point 62,which will bite into the button and thereby operate to keep it inoriented position and prevent any rotation of the button with respect toits axis. In this oriented position the button is deposited at thebutton-attaching station whereat it will be attached by the appropriatemechanism, herein shown as a setting punch 60, in desired orientedposition upon the article presented to receive it. As the pusher rod istransferring the button from the transfer station to the attachingstation, the rotary disc and the floating receiver are being returned tothe button-receiving station, and as the inward limit of movement of thepusher rod is approached, the adjusting screws 80 and 8| which arecarried by the pusher rod lever, are brought into operative relationwith their respective elements.

In the operation of the mechanism described, it will be observed that asthe floating receiver reaches the button transfer station the orientedbutton in the receiver will tend to drop down into the cut-out groove 55and have its oriented position destroyed due to the absence at saidtransfer station of the friction engaging surfaces on the frictionplate, and further, because of the limiting extent to which the floatingreceiver can move radially outwardly. To overcome this tendency it hasbeen found necessary to elevate or raise the button above the frictionengaging surfaces of the friction plate 29 just before the buttonreaches the transfer station. To accomplish this the end of the buttontrack in the friction plate, 1. e., that portion adjacent and overlyingthe bottom of the cut-out groove 55, is provided with a hardenedplatform plate 85 which may be secured in a rabbeted groove formed inthe plate 29 by rivets 85 or otherwise, andthe inner end of said plateis formed with a rounded cam nose 86 to facilitate the elevating action.To better serve the rotation of the oriented button from its horizontalaxial to its vertical axial position through the gate 63, the platformplate has a lip 87 projecting rearwardly beyond the adjacent face of thefriction plate 29. This platform plate is best shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5and 13. With this detail of construction it will be appreciated that asthe oriented button comes in contact with the cam nose 86 it will beelevated above the V or the knurled track, as the case may be, justprior to reaching the transfer station. During this elevating action,however, the button will be frictionally pressed downwardly against saidplatform plate by reason of the radial tension on the floating receiverand thereby retain said button in its oriented position.

The invention has been described with reference to operation upon a tackbutton of the type illustrated in Figs. 10 to 12, and in which theenlarged head on the button was brought into frictional contact with thesurfaces of the angular groove 30 in the arcuate friction plate forrotation of the button about its axis. It will be appreciated, however,that where a button with an enlarged hub 83, such as shown in Fig. 9, isto be oriented, the periphery of the hub may be urged into frictionalcontact with the knurled surface 84 on the inner periphery of the flangeII for rotating the button about its axis.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be appreciated that theinvention is susceptible of modification and change within the range ofengineering skill, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to thedetails of construction herein disclosed, since these may be variedwithin the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the button, in combination, a trackalong which the buttons are fed, a receiver mounted to move in an areadapted to periodically receive a button from the track, an arcuateframe relative to which the receiver is movable, means on the frame forfrictionally engaging a part of the button to rotate it about its axisin the receiver as the receiver moves relatively to the frame, resilientmeans normally acting to urge a button in the receiver into frictionalengagement with the arcuate portion of the frame, and means carried bythe receiver for engaging the registering means on the button duringrotation thereof to restrain the button against further rotation.

2. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the buttons, in combination, aframe having an arcuate portion, a rotatable disc concentric with saidarcuate portion, a floating receiver in said disc having a recessadapted to receive a button to be oriented, said floating receiver beingtensioned radially outwardly so that a peripheral portion of the buttonwithin the receiver will engage the arcuate portion of the frame and berotated thereby as the disc moves relatively to the frame, and meanscarried by the floating receiver for engaging the registering means onthe button during rotation thereof to restrain the button againstfurther rotation about its axis, notwithstanding further rotation of thedisc.

3. A button-positioning mechanism according to claim 2, wherein thefloating receiver has a recess for accommodating a button having acylindrical hub and an enlarged circular head, and wherein the enlargedhead on the button will be frictionally engaged by the arcuate portionof the frame for rotating the button about its axis.

4. A button-positioning mechanism according to claim 2, wherein thefloating receiver has a recess for accommodating a button having acylindrical hub and an enlarged circular head, and wherein the hub enthe button will be frictionally engaged by the arcuate portion of theframe for rotating the button about its axis.

5. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the button, in combination, a trackalong which the buttons are fed, a movable receiver adapted toperiodically receive a button from the track, a frame relative to whichthe receiver is movable, means on the frame for frictionally engaging apart of the button to rotate it about its axis in the receiver as thereceiver moves relatively to the frame, resilient means normally actingupon the receiver to urge a button therein into frictional engagementwith the frame, and a pivotally mounted spring-tensioned amazes leverhaving a locator pin thereon carried by the receiver for engaging theregistering means on the button, and means for engagement with saidlever to move the locator pin out of its buttonengaging position so thata button from the track may move into the receiver.

6. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering a button, a button feeding station,a button transfer station, a button attaching station, means forreceiving a button from the feeding station and having cooperativeengagement with the registering means on the button for orienting thebutton and presenting it in oriented position at the transfer station, amovable arm for engaging the button at the transfer station andtransferring it to the attaching station, said am being movableto turnthe button through an angle relatively to its axis, and means on saidarm for insuring the retention of the oriented position of the buttonduring its movement from the transfer station to the attaching station.

7. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering a button, a button feeding station,a button transfer station, a button attaching station, means forreceiving a button from the feeding station and having cooperative en'-gagement with the registering means on the button for orienting thebutton and presenting it in oriented position at the transfer station, amovable arm for engaging the button at the transfer station andtransferring it to the attaching station, said arm being movableparallel to the axis of the oriented button to turn the button throughan angle relatively to its axis, and a sharp point on said arm forbiting into the button for insuring the retention of the orientedposition of the button during its movement from the transfer station tothe attaching station.

8. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering a button, a button feeding station,a button transfer station, a button attaching station, means forreceiving a button from the feeding station and having cooperativeengagement with the registering means on the button for orienting thebutton and presenting it in oriented position at the transfer station, amovable arm for engaging the button at the transfer station andtransferring it to the attaching station, said arm being movable to turnthe button through an angle relatively to the axis, and having a bearingsurface for engaging the periphery of the button and a sharp pointprojecting slightly from said bearing surface for biting into theperiphery of the button for holding it against rotation during itsmovement from the transfer station to the attaching station.

9. In a button-feeding mechanism, in combination, a gravity track alongwhich the buttons are fed, a rotary cut-off means movable across the endof the track having a peripheral recess therein for receiving one buttonat a time from the track, an auxiliary cut-off means for engaging thebottommost button in the track after a button therefrom has beendeposited in the peripheral recess of the rotary cut-off means, saidauxiliary cut-off means serving to hold said bottommost button in spacedrelation to the periphery of the rotary cut-off means, and means forreleasing the engagement of the auxiliary cut-off means with the buttonwhen the peripheral recess in the cut-off means is again presented inalinement with the track so as to permit the 7 buttons to movedownwardly in the track to deposit the bottommost button into theperipheral recess.

10. In a button-feeding mechanism, in combination, a gravity track alongwhich the buttons are fed, anoscillatable disc cut-off means movableacross the end of the track having a peripheral recess therein forreceiving one button at a time from the track, and an auxiliary cut-ofl'means, for restraining the weight of all the buttons in the track frombearing on the rotary oscillatory cut-off means, said auxiliary cut-offmeans comprising a spring-pressed element normally engaging thebottommost button in the track to hold it in spaced relation in theperiphery of the oscillatory cut-off means, said springpressed elementbeing intermittently releasable to permit the buttons to move downwardlyin the track by the force of gravity and deposit the bottommost buttonin the track into the peripheral recess of the oscillatory cut-offmeans.

11. In a button-feeding mechanism, in combination, a gravity track alongwhich buttons are fed, a rotary disc cut-off means movable across theend of the track for receiving one button at a time fromthe track, anauxiliary cut-01f member pivotally mounted and spring-pressed'tonormally engage a button' above the bottom of the track to restrain theengaged button and the buttons above said engaged button from resting onthe periphery of the rotary cut-off means,

and means for intermittently releasing the engagement of the auxiliarycut-off member to permit the buttons to move downwardly in the track bythe force of gravity and deposit the bottommost button from the trackinto the rotary disc cut-oil means.

12. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the buttons, in combination, atrack along which buttons are fed, an oscillatable disc cut-off meansextending across said track, said disc having a. recess adapted toperiodically receive a button from the track, a transfer station, abutton-attaching station, a pivotally mounted lever having a locator pincarried by the disc for orienting the button within the disc while it isrotated from the button-receiving station to the transfer station, amovable arm for engaging the tons or the like having means thereoncapable of registering the buttons, in combination, a gravity trackalong which buttons are fed, an oscillatable disc cut-oil meansextending across said track, said disc having a recess adapted toperiodically receive a button from the track, locator means carried bysaid disc and having a part normally extending into the recess fororienting the button therein as the disc is rotated, an auxiliarycut-ofl means normally engaging a button above the bottommost in thetrack to restrain the engaged button and those above it from resting onthe buttons below them in the track, and means operable substantiallysimultaneously for engaging the locator means to withdraw the part fromthe recess in the disc so that a button from the track may enter therecess and for releasing the auxiliary cut-off means to permit thebuttons in the track to move downwardly therein.

14. A button-positioning means according to claim 13, wherein thelocator means comprises a pivotally mounted arm and the part whichextends into the recess is a pin mounted on said arm and wherein theauxiliary cut-off means is a pivotally mounted, spring-tensioned lever.

15. A button-positioning means according to claim 13, wherein the meansfor engaging both the locator means and the auxiliary cut-off means area pair of projections on an intermittently movable lever.

16. A button-positioning means according to claim 13, wherein the meansfor engaging both the locator means and the auxiliary cut-off means area pair of adjustable pins on an intermittently movable lever.

17. A button-positioning means according to claim 13, wherein thelocator means comprises a pivotally mounted arm and the part whichextends into the recess is a pin mounted on said arm, wherein theauxiliary cut-off means is a pivotally mounted lever and wherein themeans for engaging both the locator means and the auxiliary cut-offmeans are a pair of projections on a lever movable in timed relation tothe oscillatable disc cut-off means.

18. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the buttons, in combination, abuttonfeeding station, a button-transfer station, a frame having anarcuate portion, a rotatable disc concentric with said arcuate portion,a floating receiver in said disc having a. recess adapted to receive abutton to be oriented, said floating receiver being tensioned radiallyoutwardly so that a peripheral portion of the button within the receiverwill engage the arcuate portion of the frame and be rotated thereby asthe disc moves relatively to the frame, said frame having a cut-outportion at the transfer station through which a button transfer memberis reciprocable, cooperating means on the disc and on the floatingreceiver for limiting the radial outward movement of the floatingreceiver, means carried by the floating receiver for engaging theregistering means on the button during rotation thereof to restrain thebutton against further rotation about its axis notwithstanding furtherrotation of the disc, and means adjacent the button transfer station andin advance thereof for preventing the oriented button in the floatingreceiver from dropping down into the recess in the frame when thefloat-- ing receiver reaches the transfer station.

- 19. In a button-positioning mechanism for buttons or the like havingmeans thereon capable of registering the button; in combination, a trackalong which the buttons are fed, a movable receiver adapted toperiodically receive a button from the track, a frame relative to whichthe receiver is movable, means on the frame for frictionally engaging apart of the button to rotate it about its axis in the receiver as thereceiver moves relatively to the frame, resilient means normally actingupon the receiver to urge a button therein into frictional engagementwith the frame, and a spring-tensioned locator pin carried by thereceiver for engaging the registering 1 means on the button, and meansfor moving the locator pin out of its button-engaging position so that abutton from the track may move into BOHUMIL BAREB.

the receiver.

